Employment Relations Bill — Collective agreements: detriment and dismissal — 21 Jul 1999

Lords amendments considered.

Lords amendments Nos. 1, 2 to 6, 7, 21, 23, 28 to 31, 319 and 330 agreed to .

Lords amendment: No. 8, in page 5, line 5, leave out ("the worker")

Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House agrees with the Lords in the said amendment.-- [Mr. Battle.]

Lords amendment agreed to .

Lords amendments Nos. 9 to 14 agreed to .

I beg to move, That this House agrees with the Lords in the said amendment.

Mr. Deputy Speaker:

With this, it will be convenient to take Lords amendments Nos. 27, 297, 305 and 323, Lords amendment No. 323, amendments (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) thereto and Lords amendment No. 331.

The Secretary of State has said that no remedy is available to the commissioner. We have argued that the Bill will leave the plaintiff with no remedy, except to go on his own to the courts. If he is reasonably well paid--as he may well be--and has a little capital, he will not get legal aid.

Lords amendment agreed to.

Lords amendment: No. 16, in page 8, line 8, leave out ("subject") and insert ("subjected")

I beg to move, That this House agrees with the Lords in the said amendment.

Mr. Deputy Speaker:

With this, it will be convenient to discuss Lords amendment No. 17 and the Government motion to disagree thereto, and Lords amendments Nos. 18 and 19, 26, 327 and 328.

It is thus clearly on the record that the Government, as we had anticipated, hoped to introduce such a measure, but we have received no explanation of why it was left to the Opposition--in the absence of that measure--to table successfully the amendment that we are discussing.

The Secretary of State should explain what the Government are trying to achieve with these amendments, which contradict the White Paper.

Lords amendment agreed to.

Lords amendment: No. 17, in page 8, line 20, at end insert--

("(4) The payment of higher wages or higher rates of pay or overtime or the payment of any signing on or other bonuses or the provision of other benefits having a monetary value to other workers employed by the same employer shall not constitute a detriment to any worker not receiving the same or similar payments or benefits within the meaning of subsection (1)(a) of this section so long as--

(a) there is no inhibition in the contract of employment of the worker receiving the same from being the member of any trade union, and

(b) the said payments of higher wages or rates of pay or overtime or bonuses or the provision of other benefits are in accordance with the terms of a contract of employment and reasonably relate to services provided by the worker under that contract,

and paragraph 4 of Schedule 2 to this Act and sections 146 and 148(3) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 shall be construed accordingly.")

Motion made, and Question put, That this House disagrees with the Lords in the said amendment.-- [Mr. Byers.]

The House divided: Ayes 312, Noes 109.

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